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The Great Militia War
The Great Militia War was a war. Mitchell's Gambit In 2167, Jericho Prime had been a successful colony for nearly two decades. During that time, the militia operating near Eugene, the largest city on the planet, grew far larger and richer than any of the others. The leader of this militia was a man named Ben Mitchell. Mitchell calculated that with his militia's superiority, he could easily defeat the other militias and unite the planet under his flag. He spent several years gathering strength and planning how this could be accomplished. On the the morning of July 2nd, 2167, Mitchell launched attacks against five of the nearest militias and moved to occupy the city of Eugene. Mitchell's forces swept aside the stunned and unprepared militias. After nearly 25 years, war had returned to Jericho Prime. Capitalizing on his early success, Mitchell launched further attacks to extend his territory. After just five months, Mitchell controlled nearly half of the planet. The other militias of Jericho Prime were not at all prepared for an all-out conflict and were crushed in battle after battle against Mitchell's forces. The Militias Unite At this point, Mitchell paused his assault to consolidate his forces and wait for the rough Jerichan winter to pass. However, this gave the other militias a chance to dig in and prepare for the inevitable assault. During this time, the leader of a tiny militia that operated near the city of Browning named John Walsh decided to try and unite the remaining militias of Jericho Prime. He was rebuked during his first attempts, but at a meeting between militia leaders, he was able to convince many to temporarily unite under his leadership. The militias who had at first rebuked Walsh felt that they had no other choice but to join him. Walsh used what money he had at his disposal to better equip his forces and was even able to muster enough starfighters to contest Mitchell's air superiority. He also unsuccessfully lobbied the UAF to support him and his forces. Mitchell's Assault Continues As winter came to a close Mitchell began his renewed push against the rest of the planet. In March, 2168, Mitchell's forces again went on the offensive against the now united militias. Mitchell and his army expected a swift victory against minimal resistance. Mitchell won the initial battles but faced much more resistance than initially anticipated. As Mitchell's forces broke through the front lines, Walsh order his forces across the planet to retreat to a series of fortified fallback positions. It was at this new line that Walsh would make his stand. Mitchell's first attempts to capture these new positions were met by very heavy resistance and were eventually repulsed. Several subsequent attempts to pierce Walsh's lines were also stopped. Mitchell's assault had finally ground to a halt. Walsh's Counterattack With Mitchell's attack at an end, Walsh decided to use the momentum his forces had to begin to drive back Mitchell. The initial results were extremely promising as Mitchell was forced to retreat across the planet. Walsh continued to press the advantage and before long Mitchell's army was being routed on all fronts. As Mitchell began to lose the war, conditions in the territory he occupied began to deteriorate. For the most part, people living under Mitchell were able to continue their lives as normal, but as the war effort began to crumble the civilian population was forced to turn over any valuable resources. Uprisings and resistance movements began to harass Mitchell behind the lines while Walsh's forces continued to drive him back. During this time, a group of Mitchell's senior advisors began to grow frustrated with their leader. They had attempted to convince him to negotiate peace with Walsh but Mitchell had refused. On September 3rd, 2168, Mitchell was executed by a group of his advisors who then took control of the militia. Two days later the advisors surrendered to Walsh and his militias.